Saturday, August 01, 2015

A Little Something for the Weekend - How Summer Has Changed

The Pink Heart Society is delighted to welcome Trish Milburn as she talks about summer, television and finding inspiration everywhere!

My husband and I were recently talking about how summers now are so different from when we were kids. One of the main reasons was when we were growing up in two different small farming communities in Kentucky in the 1970s, we didn’t have air conditioning. We can remember sitting in front of big box fans, trying to cool down (often in vain) while watching TV. He typically watched Cincinnati Reds games. I was watching reruns of things I’d missed when they originally aired because, hey, we didn’t have DVRs or On Demand or the wonderful bounty that is Netflix then.

That’s something that I really like, how now there is original programming in the summer. I draw inspiration from TV programs and I watch TV while writing. Because I record everything, I use it as a reward system. I write one page, watch a segment between commercials, and back and forth.

I’m a big sci-fi TV fan, and there are lots of those types of programs in the summer. I’ve been watching the new seasons of Defiance and Falling Skies, both of which have the theme of trying to survive in a harsh world ravaged by wars with aliens.

New programs have also captured my interest. Dark Matter has an interesting concept – six people wake from stasis on a spaceship and have no idea who they are. When they find out, they don’t like what’s revealed. It poses an interesting question – would you be able to take that second chance and do things differently, or would something within you make the same mistakes all over again?

And Killjoys is about space bounty hunters. It’s one part Guardians of the Galaxy and one part Firefly, and a nice mixture of intrigue, action and just plain sassy fun.

I like a wide variety of shows, and it’s even better when a show mixes lots of what I like. I get that with The Last Ship, which is in its sophomore season this summer. Post-pandemic survival story? Check. Lots of action? Check. Hot Navy men in uniform, including Eric Dane? Big fat check. I love survival stories because they shine a spotlight on how different people react very differently in the same situation when basic human survival is at stake. Some rise to the occasion and work hard to help others, while other people take advantage and are only looking out for themselves at the expense of others.

And finally, I love a good costume drama. I’ve really been enjoying Poldark on Masterpiece this summer. It doesn’t hurt one bit that Aiden Turner is not hard to look at. It’s set in Cornwall in England post-American Revolution. It’s part unexpected love story and part survival of a people in very meager times.

Also on PBS this summer was the short series The Crimson Field. Unfortunately, it’s not been picked up for a second season because I really enjoyed this fictional look into the lives of nurses at a field hospital near the front in France during World War I. While there is plenty out there depicting World War II, we don’t get WWI fare as often. It’s unfortunate that we evidently aren’t going to get to follow these characters into more seasons. It dealt with issues such as cowardice, PTSD before it was known as such, and how being in love with the wrong person when a war broke out between your countries could have devastating consequences.

Do you derive inspiration from good TV writing? What are you watching this summer?Trish is offering a signed copy of The Heart of a Cowboy, for one lucky commenter (US only).

Trish's latest title in her Blue Falls, Texas series is The Heart of a Cowboy, out now:

What is she hiding?

Of all the Brody boys, Garrett would have been voted most likely to settle down. But somehow, the right woman never came along. Until now. Veterinarian Natalie Todd left Blue Falls when she was a kid, but she seems to fit right in. Her old friends are there and she has a job with the local vet if she wants it. Every kiss tells Garrett she feels the same way he does. So what’s holding her back?

Natalie can’t say, and every kiss just makes it harder. She came back to fulfill her father’s dying wish, and found a happiness even greater than she remembered. The secret she carries will destroy everything, plain and simple. That’s why she can’t tell him. Not yet. Maybe not ever.

1 comment:

I deviate a bit from your interests with the costume drama/historical setting stuff, but most of the rest, I'm right on board!

We used to do the box fan thing, too. Thank goodness for the ubiquituousness of central air now!

Summer has changed, too, though, with the tone of TV in the last few years. At least, in the stuff that appeals to me. It's gotten darker. Royal Pains is the only light-hearted show left that we like. I miss Franklin & Bash something fierce! Love Falling Skies and The Last Ship--great tension.

Also love Killjoys and Dark Matter. It's so funny to me that Killjoys is the one that gets all the Firefly comparison. The atmosphere is there, of course, but Dark Matter has direct lineups. Five is River, Three is Jayne...that guy who set them up on the job a couple of episodes ago came on the screen, and I yelled "Badger!" LOL The story is unique, though. I'm loving the discoveries we're making. Everyone was labeled "bad," then we started to see how it was more complicated than that, and then the revelation at the end of the last episode actually made me gasp.

But Killjoys is my favorite. I lovelovelove the relationship between Dutch and Johnny, and the actors' chemistry is fantastic.